Saina Nehwal Named Brand Ambassador for India's First CXO Pickleball League

Two months after walking away from professional badminton, Saina Nehwal stepped onto a different kind of court. Speaking at a CXO Pickleball League event in New Delhi on March 14, the Olympic medallist and former world No. 1 threw her full backing behind the sport and the league that has now made her its public face.

The CXO Pickleball League, founded by RJ Anmol, markets itself as India's first league of its kind, built specifically around top corporate leaders and designed to fuse competitive play with business networking and fitness. It is currently active in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru, and by Nehwal's account, the early returns in Mumbai have been strong.

"CXO Pickleball League is doing very well. It has done very well in Mumbai. I am sure it will do very well in Delhi. So many players are coming to play," Nehwal said on the sidelines of the New Delhi event.

The relationship between Nehwal and the league predates her January 2026 retirement announcement. She said the conversation with Anmol began in 2025, well before she officially stepped away from badminton. "I have retired. Last year, I had a talk with Anmol. He wanted to start a Pickleball League. We had a talk before my retirement. I am very happy that I have joined a sport again," she said.

That last phrase carries real weight. Nehwal spent more than two decades as one of badminton's defining figures, reaching world No. 1 and winning an Olympic bronze medal at London 2012. Staying tethered to competitive sport through this ambassadorship appears to be a deliberate choice rather than a ceremonial one.

Her endorsement also arrives at a moment when pickleball's footprint in India is genuinely expanding. The sport accelerated sharply after the COVID-19 pandemic, and multiple leagues have since taken root across the country. Nehwal framed the CXO Pickleball League's role in that ecosystem as a competitive ladder for the sport's growing participant base.

"Pickleball is becoming very popular in our country. Many people are playing. If they want to play in a competitive way, I think this league will help them a lot," she said.

Whether Nehwal's profile converts casual corporate players into serious competitors remains to be seen. But her name attached to a league still establishing its Bengaluru and Delhi footprint gives it a credibility that no amount of networking events alone could manufacture.